


A Cold Beginning

by mayseriouslyunusual



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 15:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13216470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayseriouslyunusual/pseuds/mayseriouslyunusual
Summary: It's New Year's Day, and Martin is late for work.





	A Cold Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Written for brilliant-tomato as part of the fandot Secret Santa 2017!

Martin didn’t often swear, but he did so now, softly repeating ‘shit, shit, shit…’ as he turned off the engine, slammed the van door, ran to the building and dived inside.

“Goodness, he’s here at last!” Carolyn’s voice was shrill and mocking.

“I’m only-” Martin paused, breathless, to check his watch. “-fifteen minutes late.”

“And what an unusual fifteen minutes they were! We thought you might have died,” Douglas put in, dryly.

“I’m sorry. I had to clear the snow from around the van, and then unfreeze the engine, and _then_ there was congestion on-”

“Yes yes, well you’re here now,” Carolyn interrupted. “It’s a shame we’re not flying, really.”

Martin stopped short. “We’re not… what? Is it the weather? No, it can’t be that... the snow is within-”

“The clients have cancelled at the last minute. Still, they’re paying in full, so no harm done.”

“Except in taking out our New Year’s Day,” said Douglas, leaning back and rolling his eyes.

“Oh, I do wish you’d shut up about that!” Carolyn snapped. “It wasn’t on the wall chart!”

Douglas pressed his lips into a thin line of distaste. “I think you’ll find it was, Carolyn! In fact, we’ve had this conversation before. The thing is, with events such as, to pick a random example, _New Year’s Day_ , we don’t actually have to write them on the wall chart, because the makers of the wall chart have already oh-so-helpfully printed them on the wall chart.”

“Where’s Arthur?” Martin put in hurriedly, anxious to stop the conversation before it could devolve into a full-blown argument.

“Where do you think? Out in the snow!” Carolyn paused to pinch the bridge of her nose, as if she had a headache. “My god, that boy seems to have boundless energy. You know, last night he insisted on staying up just so he could pull a party popper as the clock struck midnight? And he was still awake at seven!” She paused. “I imagine he’ll come back in once he sees your van.”

As if heralded by her words, the door flew open, sending a blast of cold air rushing in, and with it, Arthur, rosy-cheeked and beaming brighter than a fluorescent strip light.

“Skip! You’re here! And there’s snow! Isn’t it brilliant?”

“Arthur, we’ve had snow for a week…”

“Doesn’t make it any less brilliant!”

Douglas stretched out his arms and yawned. “Well, I don’t know about you all, but I’d rather not waste any more of my day. I’m going home.” He stood, and Martin and Carolyn followed suit.

Once outside, Martin was brought up short. “I was just fifteen minutes late, wasn’t I…?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Indeed you were, Martin,” Douglas confirmed.

“And in that time, Arthur, you’ve managed to build a snowman and make-” he paused to count. “-seven snow angels?”

Caroyln shrugged. “Like I said, the boy has boundless energy.”

“Um, mum, Douglas, Skip, can I ask you something…?” Arthur trailed off, winding his hands together anxiously.

“Just spit it out, dear, you look like an eight-year-old who’s too nervous to ask the teacher if he can use the toilet,” Carolyn prompted.

“Well, I was just wondering if, before we go, we could have a snowball fight…?”

Martin was taken aback. “A snowball fight? I don’t think I’ve had one of those in… oh it has to be more than fifteen years.”

“Well, we don’t have to, but it would be brilliant! I’ve made a snowman and snow angels, but you can’t have a snowball fight on your own.”

“Arthur, I-” Martin’s words were cut short as a clump of powdery cold slammed into his ear. He whirled around, outraged words lining up to fall off his tongue, and saw Carolyn looking surprised and Douglas altogether too nonchalant.

“Right! I guess we are doing this! You’re in for it now!” Martin scooped up a handful of snow, compacting it perhaps a fraction harder than was necessary, and hurled it towards his first officer.

Douglas, who had been expecting this, stepped smartly to the side. The snowball sailed past his shoulder… and suddenly, everything appeared to move in slow motion.

Martin watched, horrified, as, like the titanic towards the deadly iceberg, the snowball glided through the air and landed slap-bang in the middle of Carolyn’s face.

Then the world seemed to hold its breath as with two precise movements, she wiped the snow from her eyes and flicked it to the ground.

“Martin…” she began, fixing him with a piercing stare.

“Y-yes Carolyn?”

“Run.”

Seeing that she was not even in the vicinity of joking, Martin turned, and before he had got two paces her snowball hit him in the back of the neck, sending icy water trickling down inside his shirt collar.

Arthur whooped and gathered up a snowball himself, and soon the air was thick with icy projectiles.

It was, all parties agreed, an excellent start to the New Year.

**Author's Note:**

> I have to admit, I really didn't want to post this because John Finnemore is one of my idols when it comes to writing, and playing in his sandbox was very daunting! Still, here it is, and I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
